Like Lovers Do - Tracey Livesay Page 0,2

sink in but when it did, they all burst out laughing.

Nic admired the smiling faces around her. She could count on one hand the number of people she’d trust with her life and these women would claim three of those fingers. She’d met them their first year of college at the University of Virginia. While everyone else seemed to have their shit together, Nic felt out of place from the moment she’d arrived. It was so different from the small city in western Tennessee where she’d grown up. Her roommate had been from a wealthy Georgia family. Shelby and her friends had swept into the dorm in their pearl stud earrings and floral fit and flare dresses, tongues dripping with sweet Southern accents and malicious gazes that swept over her and found her wanting.

It had taken every ounce of self-control Nic had possessed not to hide her big-box store bedspread and the worn-out suitcase and nonmatching duffel bag that held all of her belongings. Shelby had talked of little else but partying and pledging Tri-Delt, whatever that was. All dreams Nic had of finally finding “her tribe” had vanished.

One afternoon, she’d headed down to the dorm’s TV lounge to watch Oprah. It had become a ritual she and her mom performed, their brief moment to catch up after Nic came home from school but before her mother left to start her second job. Nic had sprinted, not walked, away from her home and her past, so she hadn’t expected to crave anything that reminded her of there. But she had. And in doing so, she’d met three other girls who’d been trying to carve out their own little space in their new environment. They’d become best friends, and the following fall, when they had a choice in their housing, they’d decided to room together. They’d remained close all four years and during that time, they’d managed to become as important to her as if they were family.

Nic wrapped her arms around her raised knees. “I appreciate y’all agreeing to an earlier and shorter vacay this year and one close to me.”

With her residency wrapping up, studying for and taking her boards and her fellowship starting in August, Nic couldn’t afford as much time off this year. Additionally, the added bonus of being in the Outer Banks meant driving instead of flying, which saved money and allowed her to detour to her future home in Durham and look at apartments on her way back to Baltimore.

“Anytime,” Caila said. “Days of vacay, places of vacay, all negotiable. Missing a vacay isn’t.”

Two years after they’d graduated from college, Caila had been sent on a weeklong work trip in Florida and given a bungalow on the beach. She’d invited Nic, Ava, and Lacey to come down and stay with her and thus their annual vacay had been born. It was cherished time they never missed.

“Caila, make sure you thank Wyatt for us. Arranging all of this”—Ava gestured to the house—“and the morning of pampering was very nice of him.”

Lacey nodded. “He’s a keeper.”

Nic frowned at her. “Because he’s letting us use this house and he paid for some massages?”

“Don’t forget the mani-pedis,” Ava piped in.

“Shouldn’t we see if he treats Caila well, before we, I don’t know, pimp her out for future vacays?” Nic crossed her arms.

Caila smiled. “Your concern touches me, Nic. But don’t worry. He’s wonderful. And I’ll pass on your gratitude, Ava. Wyatt was happy to do it. Said it would be his way to introduce himself to my friends. He knows how important you are to me and he’s a fan of big gestures.”

“Is he now?” Ava smiled. “Anything else big about him?”

“Oh yeah,” Caila said, a smile teasing her lips. She tapped a spot halfway down her thigh.

“Damn,” Lacey whispered.

Caila nodded. “Girl, yes! He has this big mole, right here and—”

Lacey threw a pillow at Caila.

Caila dodged it, her tongue between her teeth. “That’s what you get for being nosy.”

“Ms. Harris.” A woman strode from the house and set a pitcher of water and sliced citrus fruit on the patio table. “The chef wanted to know what time he should serve dinner?”

Caila looked around. “Seven thirty?”

They all nodded and the woman smiled and left them.

After everyone had their drink, Ava lifted her glass. “To the Ladies of Lefevre and a great vacay,” she said, referring to the name they’d given themselves based on the dorm where they’d met.

“And to Dr. Allen, starting her fellowship,” Lacey added.

Pride and happiness swelled